Stand By Me
by maya selene
Summary: another incomplete series by me :)) the beginning of an MWPP & L/J. review!


"I don't understand it." Mrs Bronwell ran a hand distractedly through her hair, staring down at the ticket in her hand. "It says here to meet the Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. But there is no Platform Nine and Three Quarters!"  
Lily checked her watch. There was only ten minutes left to board the train. She didn't want to be late for her first day of school. "They must have made a mistake," she said. "Perhaps you should ask someone."  
"Maybe I should," Mrs Bronwell murmured. She called out to a passing guard. "Excuse me, sir, I'm looking for Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Can you tell me where it is?"  
The guard looked at her strangely. "Platform what?"  
"Nine and Three Quarters."  
The guard shook his head. "No such thing," he said, and walked off.  
Mrs Bronwell looked around helplessly. "This is hopeless!" she said, but Lily wasn't listening. She was staring across at a woman with dark hair who was pushing a trolley in front of her. It was loaded with a case almost exactly the same as hers. Her son was in front, trying to shove a toad into his pocket. Suddenly, the toad leapt out of his hands and on top of the case. The woman shrieked.  
"JAMES! How many times have I told you to keep that thing in your pocket? Get it out of my sight. Now!"  
"Okay, okay." The boy picked up the toad and stuck it back into his pocket. "I'll meet you on the platform," he said, and ran. Straight through the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten.  
Lily blinked. The boy had vanished.  
"Mum," she said, tugging at her mother's dress. "I think the lady over there's a witch. Maybe she can help us find the platform."  
"Are you sure, Lily?" Mrs Bronwell asked, peering at the woman.  
"Yes... her son had toad just now, and she has a case just like mine."  
"Okay, I'll ask.... excuse me," Mrs Bronwell called after the lady. The lady turned around, looking puzzled as they approached her.  
"Yes?" she said.  
"Well, my daughter's starting her first year at Hogwarts and she doesn't know how to get onto the platform. Can you show her how?"  
"You don't know how to get onto the platform?" the woman said, looking confused. Then a sudden look of understanding came over her face. "Oh, you're Muggle-born," she said in a very different tone of voice then what she was using before. Lily didn't like it. "Just walk straight between the barrier of Platforms Nine and Ten. You can't go through," she said, looking at Mrs Bronwell. "It's only for our kind." She turned back to Lily. "You'd better go through now, before you miss the train."  
"Okay," Lily said. She looked up at her mother. "By mum," she said.  
Mrs Bronwell bent down to hug her. "Goodbye, Lily." she said. Then she whispered,"You're father would have come too if he hadn't had to take Petunia to Smeltings."  
"I know," said Lily. They broke apart and Lily began to push the trolley towards the barrier. It looked very solid. She began to walk faster, then broke into a run. She was almost there... almost... almost...  
She stumbled out into the sunlight and looked around her.  
The platform was filled with people of all ages. Older students talking to friends, terrified looking first years, harassed parents holding screaming babies, people hanging out of windows say goodbye... Lily began getting dizzy at the very sight of it. She decided she had better find a compartment to put her things in and pushed her trolley towards the train.  
Once she was there, she realized her suitcase was far too heavy for her to carry on by herself. She stood there, struggling for a while when a voice said, "Need some help?"  
Lily glanced up and saw a boy about in his fifth or sixth year with dark hair and brown eyes looking at her.  
"Yes, please," she said. The boy picked her suitcase up for her easily and lifted it onto the train.  
"This your first year?" he asked her, scanning around for an empty carriage.  
"Yes," Lily said.  
"You'll be with my sister Belinda then," he said. He called out. "Hey, Bin!"  
A girl with dark brown hair tired back into a pony tail and brown eyes stuck her head out of a nearby carriage.  
"What?" she said.  
"Anyone in your carriage? There aren't any more empty ones."  
"There's nobody in here but me."  
"Mind if she sits with you then?" he said, gesturing towards Lily.  
"Not at all," she said. She opened the carriage door wider for him and the boy went inside, heaving the suitcase along with him. Between the three of them, they managed to hoist it onto the racks.  
"Thanks," Lily said, wiping the sweat out of her eyes.  
"No problem," said the boy. "I've got my own carriage further on, so I'll see you both later."  
"Bye," they said as he left the compartment.  
Belinda sat down and motioned for Lily to sit beside her.  
"My name's Belinda Cuttleworth, what's yours?"  
"Lily Bronwell. What's your brother's name?"  
"Jacob. He's in his sixth year."  
"Oh. Are all your family wizards?"  
"Mostly. My great-uncle was a squib."  
"What's a squib?"  
"It's a person born into a wizarding family with no magical powers... are you Muggle-born?"  
"Yes."  
The train began to pull slowly out of the station. Faster and faster until the outside was just a blur outside her window.  
"Are there going to be any other Muggle-borns going to Hogwarts?" Lily asked Belinda.  
Belinda nodded. "Yes, there are always plenty, although some people think they shouldn't be allowed."  
"Why not?"  
"They think that magic should only be taught to pure-blood families... they're mostly Slytherins though and you needn't pay any attention to them. Jacob says that everyone in that house is horrible."  
Belinda and Lily talked all the way to Hogwarts. Belinda was very interesting, she told Lily all about the wizarding world, and about her brothers and sisters who had graduated from Hogwarts.  
At twelve o'clock, the witch came around with the food trolley. Lily bought some of nearly everything, and she and Belinda had great fun trying the Every Flavor Beans, although Lily got a bit put off when she had one that tasted like soap.  
"It's nearly four thirty," said Belinda, checking her watch. "I expect we'll be there soon... shall we change into our robes?"  
"Okay," Lily said. They had just gotten changed into their billowing black Hogwarts robes and were about to start on a new packet of cauldron cakes, when the door of their carriage suddenly burst open and two boys walked in.  
One of the boys had longish black hair, brown eyes and a mischievous sort of look on his face. The other one was shorter, had messy hair, brown eyes that were framed with glasses and a teasing sort of smile. Lily recognized him as the boy she had seen at Kings Cross Station. They had both already changed into their Hogwarts robes.  
"Hello," said the boy with messy hair. "First year at Hogwarts?"  
"Yes," Lily said.  
"Us too," he said. "I'm James Potter and this is Sirius Black."  
"I know you," said Belinda, peering at him. "Your dad works with the Ministry, doesn't he?"  
"Yes... you're Belinda Cuttleworth, aren't you?"  
Belinda nodded. James turned to Lily.  
"What's your name?"  
"Lily Bronwell."  
"I can't wait until the Sorting, can you?"  
"What's the Sorting?" Lily asked.  
"It when we get sorted into the different houses," said James. "I wonder what house I'll be in?"  
"Gryffindor sounds best," said Sirius. "I hope I'll be put in there."  
"I expect I will be," said Belinda. "All my family have been."  
"All my family are Slytherins," said James. "But I hope I'm in Gryffindor."  
He suddenly peered closely at Lily's hat. "I like your hat," he said. Lily stared at him.  
"What are you talking about?" she said. "It's exactly the same as everyone elses-- hey!"  
James had suddenly snatch the hat from her head. She made a grab for it, but he danced away, laughing.  
"Catch it if you can," he said. He jumped out the door and ran down the corridor with Lily chasing after him.  
"Give--me--back--my--hat!" she gasped as she weaved in and out of people, trying to get to him. James just laughed and kept running.  
Suddenly, the train stopped and Lily lost her balance and fell sideways into a wall. Everyone began filing out of their compartments and out the door. Lily quickly lost sight of James and was forced outside by the crowd.  
It was cool and cloudy outside, and Lily shivered. She looked around for James again, but just then, an enormous figure, at least twice the size of a normal man, rose out of the crowd. He had a large round face which was covered mostly by a scraggly black beard. Although he looked fierce, his eyes were kind and Lily felt immediately as though she could trust him.  
"Firs' years over here," he called over the tops of everyone. Lily could see a group of nervous looking first years crowding around him, and quickly followed them.  
She glanced around again, and finally caught sight of James. He was standing near the lake, talking to Sirius and laughing. He was still holding her hat.  
She crept slowly up behind him, trying not to be seen. Sirius turned and caught sight of her. His eyes lit up.  
"Don't tell him!" she mouthed at him frantically, but Sirius just grinned. Then he said loudly, "James, if you don't want Lily to sneak up behind you to take her hat back then you'd better turn around."  
James whipped around just as Lily made a grab for her hat. He laughed and held it out of her reach.  
"Give it back!" she said. She made a lunge for it and fell into James who wobbled and lost his balance. Lily shrieked as they both tumbled down the slope. They were about to hit the lake when a huge hand grabbed them and lifted them up just in time.  
"What're you two doin' down there?" he growled as he set them back on the ground. Lily looked up and realized that it was the giant that had called all the first years to him before. "I told you all ter get to a boat."  
"Sorry," James muttered staring at the ground. But Lily could help noticing that he was still grinning.  
The man looked at them. "You'll have ter get to a boat now. There's only one boat left, that's the one over there."  
He pointed and they both followed him down the slope to the boat. It was occupied by only two other people, a boy with greasy black shoulder-length hair and a hooked nose, and another boy with blond hair and a sour look on his face.  
"You two get in there," the man said to them. James climbed in first and helped Lily on. He gave her back her hat once she was settled.  
"Thanks," she muttered, not looking at him.  
"All abroad!" the giant roared. Suddenly, the boats began to move slowly towards the castle. No one said anything for a while. Then the boy with greasy black hair spoke up.  
"I'm Severus Snape,"' he said. "And that's Malcolm Zambini." He nodded towards the boy sitting next to him. He didn't say anything. "Who are you?" Snape asked.  
"James Potter," said James. Snape nodded slowly. His eyes wondered and rested on Lily.  
"Lily Bronwell," she said.  
"Bronwell. I haven't heard of that wizarding name before," Snape said.  
"I--I don't come from a wizarding family," said Lily. She didn't really like the look Snape was giving her.  
"Oh," he said dismissively. "Another Mudblood." He seemed about to say more when James suddenly jumped up, looking furious. The boat wobbled dangerously. Lily grabbed hold of the edge.  
"What did you call her?" he asked.  
Snape looked up at him. "A Mudblood," he said. An unpleasant smile crossed his face. "Don't tell me you're a Muggle-lover too, Potter..."  
James' eyes flashed. "Take that back, Snape," he said.  
Snape sneered at him and slowly got to his feet. "How're are you going to make me?" he hissed.  
James lunged at him just as Malcolm jumped up to try and separate them.  
"Stop it!" Lily shrieked as the boat began to rock wildly. "Stop it, we're going to capsize!"  
The boat toppled over just as they reached the shore's edge. Gasping, Lily pulled herself up and struggled back to the shore. The giant reached out and helped her back onto the sand.  
"You again!" he said. He looked around and saw James climbing out of the water after her. "And you!"  
"We fell in," Lily said as Snape and Malcolm came struggling back to shore. The giant looked at them.  
"I thought as much," he said. "C'mon, we have ter get to the castle so we can get you four dry."  
They set off, James and Snape giving dark looks to each other. Lily still didn't understand what had gotten James so upset. Was it that word Snape had called her? A Mudblood?  
The first years nervously gathered in front of the castle doors, Lily, James, Snape and Malcolm in front, wet and shivering. The door suddenly swung open. Everyone looked up to see a tall, stern looking witch standing there. Her hair was pulled tightly back into a bun and she had a set of square spectacles on her nose.  
"First years, follow me," she said. Then she caught sight of the four of them all soaking wet near the door. "Good gracious!" she said. "What happened to you four?"  
"They fell in, Professor McGonagall," the giant said to her. The witch nodded crisply.  
"I thought as much, Hagrid," she said. "You four, follow me. The rest of you, in the Entrance Hall."  
Lily followed the Professor into the castle, feeling miserable. Her first day at Hogwarts, and she was in trouble already. She could just imagine what Petunia would say if she was sent home before she had even set foot inside the castle.  
The Professor opened a door left of the Entrance Hall and ushered the four of them in. Lily looked up, expecting a long lecture and a detention, but instead Professor McGonagall conjured four towels out of thin air and gave one to each of them.  
"Dry off," she said. "Then come back into the Entrance Hall with the others."  
She left the room. The four of them dried themselves off in silence. James and Snape were still giving each other looks of the most utmost loathing. Lily ignored them.  
The towels were very warm and furry, and almost felt as though they were alive.  
At last, she was dry, and the four of them made their way back into the Entrance Hall where all the other first years were standing.  
"Now, all of you get into a line," McGonagall said. "And we shall proceed into the Entrance Hall for the Sorting."  
Lily caught sight of Belinda in the crowd and quickly lined up behind her.  
"Where did you go?" Belinda whispered to her.  
"I fell in the lake," Lily said. She was about to tell her what happened when she felt someone jolt against her. She turned around and saw a boy only slightly taller than her with short, brown hair and dark eyes. He looked pale and withdrawn, and had dark circles under his eyes.  
"Sorry," he said.  
"That's okay," Lily replied. "Do you know how we're going to be Sorted?"  
The boy shook his head. "No," he said. "I'm the first in my family to go to Hogwarts."  
"Are you Muggle-born then?"  
"No, my parents went to a different wizarding school in France called Beauxbatons."  
"Oh, are there wizarding schools in other countries?" said Lily, sounding interested, but just then, Professor McGonagall stood up again.  
"Follow me," she said. The first years cast nervous looks at each other as they followed her through another door. Lily could feel her nerves mounting. What did they have to do to be Sorted?  
Lily gasped as they entered the Great Hall, and she could hear the others do the same around her. It was the most wonderful place she could imagine, with four long tables crowded with whistling, cheering people, gold plates and goblets, and the ceiling... but there didn't seem to be a ceiling! The hall seemed to open straight up to the sky.  
"It's enchanted to look like the sky outside," Belinda whispered to her. "My brothers told me all about it."  
Professor McGonagall was leading them up to the staff table. Lily could see a row of teachers there. And in the center was Albus Dumbledore, looking just as he did in all the pictures she had seen of him. She stared at him as she went past, and felt very startled when he suddenly caught her eye and gave her a very small wink.  
Professor McGonagall lined them up in front of the staff table, facing the rest of the school on the house tables. Another teacher, a tiny little one this time, had just come out. He was carrying a stool, which he set in the center of the Hall. On the stool, he put a very patched, dirty black hat.  
The Hall grew silent. Everyone looked at the hat, so Lily stared at it too. Nothing happened. Then the hat suddenly seemed to straighten itself then:  
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty  
But don't judge on what you see  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me!  
You can keep your bowlers back  
Your top hats sleek and tall  
For I'm the Hogwarts sorting hat  
And I can cap them all!  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be!  
You may belong in Gryffindor  
Where dwell the brave at heart  
Their daring nerve and chivalry  
Set Gryffinders apart  
You may belong in Hufflepuff  
Where they are just and loyal  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil  
Or yet in wise old Raveclaw  
If you've a ready mind  
Where those of wit and learning  
Will always find their kind  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll find your true friends  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends!  
So try me on, don't be afraid  
And don't get in a flap  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a thinking cap!"  
  
(A/N: Yes I know I ripped that straight out of the first HP book. I'm sorry. It's just that I'm really bad at writing poems. I mean, really bad. Really, really bad. And that was straight from memory. So if I got anything wrong, forgive me, K?)  
  
Lily's relief only lasted for a second. They only had to try on the hat. No tests or anything. But what if... what if she got put in a house where everyone was horrible to her? Nobody seemed to want to go to Slytherin. What if she got put in there? What if she didn't get put into any house at all because it turned out that she wasn't really a witch and there had been some sort of mistake?  
With all these awful thoughts in her head, Lily turned back to Professor McGonagall who was now holding a long piece of parchment.  
"When I call your name," she said in a loud, clear voice. "Sit on the stool and put on the hat, then go to the appropriate table. Atkinson, Stuart!"  
A tall blond boy stepped out of line and went nervously over to the hat. He put in over his head, waited for a moment then--  
"HUFFLEPUFF!"  
He pulled the hat off and ran to the Hufflepuff table where everyone was cheering him.  
"Bates, Friedrick!"  
"SLYTHERIN!"  
"Black, Sirius!"  
Sirius sauntered over to the hat, not looking nervous at all, and placed it on his head. A moments hesitation, then--  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
He grinned as he pulled off the hat and walked over to the Gryffindor table. Lily remembered that he had wanted to be in Gryffindor out of all the houses.  
"Bronwell, Lily!"  
Lily stumbled out of line and sat down on the stool. She pulled the hat over her head. It fell down over her eyes and over her ears as well. Lily waited.  
"Hmm, not a bad mind here," a little voice said near her ear. "Quite a bit of talent, fairly sensible, very loyal towards friends and a fair bit of courage. Now, where should I put you? Ravenclaw? Gryffindor? Ravenclaw? Gryffindor? I think we'll make it.... GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. Lily pulled it off, relieved that she hadn't been put in Slytherin. She ran over to the Gryffindor table where everyone was clapping her and sank into a seat across from Sirius to watch the rest of the Sorting.  
"Clearwater, Felicity!"  
"Ravenclaw!"  
"Cuttleworth, Belinda!"  
Belinda, looking rather pale, sat down on the stool a pulled the hat over her head. A moment later--  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
Lily cheered loudly as Belinda took of the hat and sat down next to Lily with a relieved look on her face.  
The list went on and on, from "Grantby, Jacqueline! (Hufflepuff!)" to "Johnson, Patrick! (Ravenclaw!)" to "Longbottom Frank! (Gryffindor!)" and then--  
"Lupin, Remus!"  
The tired looking boy that Lily had spoken to before pulled the hat on his head. A moments hesitation from the hat and then--  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
Remus made his way over and sat next to Sirius. Lily smiled at him as he sat down and he smiled uncertainly back, as though he wasn't used to people showing him such friendliness.  
The list continued, then began running through the P's.  
"Peterson, Leonie!"  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
"Pettigrew, Peter!"  
A short, fat boy with watery brown eyes and a pointed nose stumbled out of line and put the Sorting Hat over his head. He sat there for a long time. Eventually, the hat declared him a Gryffindor and he went to sit down.  
"Potter, James!"  
James walked up, wearing his usual mischievous grin, and put on the hat. The hat barely hesitated before screaming out--  
"GRYFFINDOR!"  
James ran over to the table, slapping high fives as he went along. He sank down into a seat on the other side of Sirius who was cheering him loudly.  
Lily wasn't sure if she really liked the idea of having him in the same house as her, and wasn't even sure if she liked James, but decided not to worry herself about it just yet and turned back to watch the rest of the Sorting.  
Snape, not surprisingly, was put in Slytherin. He shot another nasty look at James who glared back. Finally, with Zambini, Malcolm (Slytherin!), the Sorting ended Dumbledore got to his feet.  
"Welcome, welcome, to another new year at Hogwarts," he said, beaming around. "Just a few reminders before we get on with our excellent feast...  
"Students are reminded that the Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bounds. There are a number of dangerous creatures living in there and it is not in their nature to be friendly to everyone. Also, a Whomping Willow has been planted close by. Please keep away from it unless you wish to be severely bruised and shaken.  
"I am happy to inform you that we have a new caretaker. Mr Filch, if you'll stand up..."  
A short, unpleasant looking man wearing an ugly old tail coat stood up. He gave everyone a sour look. There was a scatter of unenthusiastic applause from some of the students.  
"Mr Filch has been kind enough to take over the job for Mr Polis who has had to take a holiday due to, er, certain injuries.  
"And I think that's everything I want to say. Now, tuck in!" he said.  
And magically, food appeared on the table. It seemed to include all of Lily's favorites, as well as some things she had never seen before.  
"So, Lily," said Belinda with her mouth full. "You never told me what happened at the boats."  
"Oh," Lily said. "Well, after James gave me my hat back, we were put into a boat with two other people. Snape, and another boy, Malcolm I think his name was. Anyway, Snape said something about me being Muggle-born, and suddenly James jumped up to try and fight him..."  
"James!" Belinda gave him an indignant look. "You're not meant to be fighting with other boys! Especially not on your first day of school..."  
"But you didn't hear what he called her," James interjected angrily. "He called her a Mudblood!"  
Everyone on the table looked shocked.  
"Er-- if you don't mind my asking, what's a Mudblood?" Lily asked.  
"It's a very offensive term used for people who aren't from wizarding backgrounds," Belinda told her. "It means you've got dirty blood, see, you're not clean."  
"Most people think it doesn't matter whether you're a pure-blood or not," James said. "But some of the Slytherins..." he shook his head in disgust.  
"You shouldn't listen to any of them," Sirius said. "Rotten to the core, the whole lot of them."  
Belinda nodded fervently. "I heard that Slytherin house come up with more Dark Wizards then any other house."  
"Have you heard about that wizard? Voldemort, I think his name is," Sirius said suddenly.  
Lily shook her head.  
"I've heard he wants to get rid of all the Muggle-borns. He killed a whole family of Muggles last week, it was in the Dailey Prophet."  
"Why? Why would anyone want to do that?" Lily asked, shocked that these things could happen in a wizarding world.  
Sirius shrugged. "I guess when you've gone dark, you don't care about anyone or anything anymore... maybe he just likes killing."  
They were silent for a while, thinking about this. Then suddenly, the food on their plates disappeared and a boy stood up. Lily noticed he had a shiny silver badge on his chest with P on it, probably for prefect, she thought to herself.  
"Everybody to the common room!" he called out. "First years follow me."  
Lily got into a line with all the other Gryffindor first years and followed the prefect into the Entrance Hall, up the marble stair case, and down two corridors until they reached an enormous portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress.  
"Password?" she said as they approached.  
"Mocking bird," the prefect said, and the portrait swung open to reveal a large hole leading to the common room.  
They all climbed through and Lily took a good look around. It was a lot like her living room at home without the Muggle things, lots of squashy bean bags and arm chairs and a roaring fire at the front.  
"Into your dormitories!" the prefect roared, and everyone marched up the stairs to their separate dormitories.  
Lily sank into a four poster bed next to Belinda's. Exhausted but happy, she fell into a deep sleep and dreamt about Sorting Hats that kept laughing and running away from her.  
*****  
Next morning, Lily woke up and wondered where she was. Then she remembered, she was a witch and had just been sorted into Gryffindor house! She pulled aside the parting on her bed and saw four other tousle haired girls peering out of theirs.  
"Hello," Belinda said sleepily. "I'm Belinda Cuttleworth, and that's Lily Bronwell." She pointed to Lily who smiled sleepily and said good morning.  
"I'm Adeline Dayna," said a girl with long dark hair and brown eyes.  
"I'm Ivy Powell," said another girl with brown hair and startlingly blue eyes. "And that's Lianna. She's my cousin." She pointed to a girl with long dark blond hair and identical blue eyes.  
"Well, I suppose we had better get changed," Belinda said. "We've got our lessons starting soon."  
Lily changed in her new black Hogwarts robes and brushed her hair in the mirror. She had always hated her hair. It was long and red and curly and took about half an hour to wrestle into a pony tail every morning.  
She and Belinda made their way to the Great Hall together, and only managed to get lost once.  
They were sitting down discussing their time tables when James, Sirius, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew came over and sat near them.  
"Hey, Frizz," James said, tugging her hair as he sat down beside her.  
"Hi, Four-eyes," she replied. James laughed and peered over her shoulder at the time table.  
"What've we got first?" he asked.  
"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs," Lily said. "We have to meet Professor Sprout at the Greenhouse at nine o'clock."  
She glanced over at Remus who still looked tired. Nevertheless, he smiled when he caught her eyes and asked her, "Which lesson are you most looking forward to?"  
"Transfiguration sounds interesting," she said. "But Charms sound more fun."  
"I want to Transfiguration most," Belinda said. "Though I expect we'll only be doing simple stuff first, you know, changing toothpicks into needles, that sort of thing."  
"I want to do Defense Against the Dark Arts," Sirius said. Just then, Peter gave a small whimper and a tear rolled down his cheek.  
"What's the matter with you?" Belinda asked him, noticing that his eyes were all red and swollen. Peter didn't answer.  
'He, er, misses his parents," Sirius said. It looked as though he wanted to laugh, but James silenced him with a look so he continued eating his bacon in silence.  
Lily soon grew used to life at Hogwarts. She liked nearly all of her subjects. She found Transfiguration hardest, Charms the funnest, Potions the most confusing, History of Magic the boringest, Astronomy the most interesting, Herbology the messiest, Defense Against the Dark Arts the most challenging and flying lessons the scariest.  
Charms quickly became her favorite subject. She got so far ahead, in fact, the Professor Flitwick gave her extended work so she wouldn't feel like she was being dragged behind.  
Potions was her worst subject, it happened to be taught by a horrible wizard named Professor Halliway who was head of Slytherin House. Luckily, Belinda was good Potions and often helped her out. She also did quite well at Herbology and was soon top of the year level.  
James and Sirius were both best at Transfiguration. James was also the best flyer in the class, and wanted to try out for the position of Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team next year. First years weren't allowed their own broomsticks.  
Remus, to everyone's surprise, did best at Defense Against the Dark Arts. Peter wasn't much good at anything. The Professors were often at their wits end about him as he could not even perform the simplest spell without causing havoc.  
Despite herself, Lily felt herself being drawn towards James' group of friends. Belinda quickly became her best friend, and Sirius was James'. Remus was good friends with everybody, especially Sirius and James, and Peter just sort of tagged along.  
Belinda and James didn't get along very well. James thought Belinda was bossy and Belinda thought James was a show-off. Sirius seemed to find this funny and often tried to make them argue about stupid things that weren't really worth worrying about.  
Neither Lily or Sirius liked Peter very much. Lily didn't like him because he was constantly making cracks about her being Muggle-born and acted as though he were better just because he was a pure-blood wizard, and Sirius didn't like him because he was a coward and was never willing to take any risks. Belinda mostly ignored Peter because he never had anything intelligent to say. James and Remus didn't seem to mind him, although Remus was the only one with the patience to help him with homework.  
*****  
When Remus began disappearing once a month, Lily thought nothing of it. He always looked tired when he came back, and seemed reluctant to talk about it so Lily didn't press him. He always said his mother was sick and he had gone to visit her.  
After a while though, Lily started getting suspicious. His mother couldn't really be sick five months in a row, could she? But when she saw him coming back looking so tired, she didn't have the heart to ask him about it as he always seemed so touchy about the subject.  
When she came back to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays, there was a mysterious air around the boys, as if they knew something she didn't. They also started talking in hushed tones, and quickly shut up whenever she approached them. Lily found this annoying. She knew they were planning something, but she didn't know what. When she told Belinda, she just laughed.  
"Oh, you know them, always up to something. They're probably just planning to do something stupid, you know, die Snape's hair blue or something."  
But somehow, Lily felt as though this were something different.  
*****  
On Thursday afternoon, she was at the library trying to find books on Hover Charms. She was searching the shelves when she heard voices and peered around to see who it was.  
It was James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. They were all crowded around one book. James was flipping through it, looking harassed, and was saying quietly, "That's definitely not going to be in the student store cupboard. We might have to break into Halliway's private stores to get some of this stuff..."  
He saw Lily approaching and quickly hid the book under his bag. The others hung about, looking casual.  
"What are you boys up to?" she asked them.  
"Nothing," said James innocently.  
"What's that book?" she asked, reaching around for it, but James quickly pulled it out of her reach.  
"Just my Transfiguration stuff."  
"Then why won't you let me see it?"  
The boys looked at each other for a moment.  
"It's really none of your business, Lil," Sirius said.  
"Yeah," Peter chimed in. "We don't need Mudbloods like you messing up our plans."  
Lily waited for someone to stand up for her. No one said anything.  
"Fine," she snapped. "I'll go." She whirled around and stomped out of the library, feeling annoyed that they didn't trust her enough to tell her what the big secret was and hurt that no one had stood up for her when Peter called her a Mudblood.  
She slammed her books down on a table in the common room and worked furiously so she wouldn't have to think about them.  
*****  
An hour later, she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked up. It was James, and the others were standing behind her.  
"What?" she asked crankily.  
"We just want to say we're sorry about what Peter said before," James said quickly, "and also, we want to ask you to do us a favor."  
Lily raised her eyebrows. "What favor might this be?" She still hadn't quite forgiven them.  
"Can you do a Summoning Charm?"  
Lily looked at him, puzzled. "Why?"  
James glanced at Sirius. "Should we tell her?"  
Sirius shrugged. "We'll have to. Come on..." he grabbed her arm and dragged her a quiet corner of the common room. Lily noticed with some satisfaction that Peter didn't look too happy about it. Once they were settled, Sirius said, "We want to become Animagi!"  
"Really?" said Lily impressed. She hadn't expected something like this. "Wow."  
"But don't tell anyone," Remus said quickly, "because, it's illegal, you know, to do it without the Ministry's permission."  
"Why do you want to become Animagi for, anyway?" Lily asked. James glanced at Remus who shook his head.  
"Never mind," James said quickly. "But we need you to help us. Can you do a Summoning Charm?"  
Lily shrugged. "It's meant to be Fourth Year work but if I ask Professor Flitwick to help me I might be able to. Why?"  
"Because we need a few ingredients from Halliway's store cupboard," James said. He whispered the plan to her. Lily began to grin. She laughed when he finished.  
"Yeah, okay, I'll help you," she said. "There's just one problem... I'm not very good at recognizing Potion ingredients."  
"So, one of us will go with you," James said impatiently, but Lily shook her head.  
"Uh-uh," she said. "You and Sirius will be causing the diversion, Remus is going to be look-out and, let's face it, Peter doesn't know the difference between Boomslang Skin and Armadillo Bile." Peter scowled at her. Lily ignored him. "What we need is someone who's good at potions and can recognize the ingredients straight away..."  
James groaned. He already knew what was coming.  
"We need someone who won't chicken out, someone who we know won't rat on us..." Lily continued. Her face brightened. "I know," she said. "How about Belinda?"  
"Oh no, not her," James moaned.  
"What, do you want Snape to go with me or something?"  
"No. Just not her."  
"But James," Sirius interrupted. "Belinda's basically the only other person we can trust. And she's the only one of us who's really good at Potions. She can help us out."  
James sighed. "Okay," he said. "Just make sure she says she won't rat on us first."  
****  
"They want to become Animagi?" Belinda whispered incredulously. She hugged the blankets around to her. "But that could be really dangerous! Lots of people sprout extra heads and stuff when they take the Potion. One man even turned into a set of World Wide Encyclopedias!"  
"If they're careful, nothing bad will happen," Lily assured her.   
Belinda thought about it for a moment. "Okay, I'll help," she said.   
"Good," said Lily relieved. She hopped off Belinda's bed and onto her own. "Good night, Belinda," she said sleepily.  
"'Night, Lily," Belinda replied and drew the curtains around her bed.  
*****  
They had to time it perfectly. Lily finally mastered the Summoning Charm and James told her they were putting the plan in action this coming Friday. They had Double Potions as their final two periods, which Lily usually dreaded. Now she looked forward to it with nervous anticipation.  
That Friday, Professor Halliway had them all set about doing Shrinking Solutions He prowled down the isles, criticizing everything everyone was doing. Sirius and James were both cutting things up feverishly and throwing them into the cauldron. They had much more ingredients then everyone else which was part of the plan, and they had to get the solution finished before Professor Halliway reached them. Lucky for them, Peter was in front of them.  
Peter was terrified of Professor Halliway, a fear that steadily got worse as they progressed on to harder Potions. Professor Halliway hovered around him, saying things like, "THAT is not how to cut Yaymishe rooms, THAT is NOT how you powder scarab beetles, THAT IS NOT how to shred Garriby skin, AND WHY IS YOUR SOLUTION BLUE?"  
James finished the Potion at last and quickly nodded towards Lily and Belinda. Both of them leant casually against the wall and began edging slowly towards the door. Professor Halliway was still bullying Peter and didn't notice.  
Sirius quickly unwrapped an entire packet of Filibuster's Wet Start Fireworks and threw the whole lot into his cauldron. The entire thing blew up, spraying the whole room with the Potion.  
Everyone shrieked as they found parts of them shrinking rapidly. Snape had somehow managed to get the worst of the Potion and began shrinking at an alarming rate till you could barely see him at all.  
Professor Halliway quickly managed to restore calm, and while everyone was looking for Snape (although it looked as though most of the Gryffindors weren't making much of an effort), Lily and Belinda slipped quietly out the door.  
They ran down the corridor, looking for Halliway's office.   
"I think it's this one," Lily said, pushing a door open. They went inside. Lily quickly pointed her wand at the store cupboard and said, "Alohomora!" The door flew open. Belinda began pointing things out rapidly, instructing Lily on what to take. Lily pointed her wand at them, whispering "Accio!Accio!Accio!" as the Potion ingredients came flying through the air towards her.   
"I think that's it," Belinda said, looking at the list James had given her. "We'd better get out of here before Halliway comes looking for us."  
They quickly left the office, Lily's bag bulging with Potions ingredients.  
They went back into the dungeons. Thankfully, Professor Halliway hadn't noticed them come in. Someone had found Snape at last. James and Sirius were snorting with laughter as Halliway dabbed a Swelling Solution onto him, watching him slowly get bigger and bigger.   
James caught Lily's eye as they came in, and Lily gave him the thumbs up sign. James grinned at her, then turned back to watching Snape growing bigger. It was an opportunity too good to miss.  
*****  
"How long is it going to take?" James asked as Belinda threw ingredients into the cauldron. They were using an old, empty dungeon that no one ever used to make the Potion in. It gave James the creeps, but it seemed the safest place to keep the ingredients in so he wasn't complaining.  
Belinda looked at the book. "Well, since we still have to get a lot of ingredients from Diagon Alley and some of them can only be picked at certain phases of the moon, I would say about..." she wrinkled up her nose. "Four years."  
"Four years?" Sirius said incredulously. "We'll be in our fifth year!"  
"Well, do you want to become Animagi or not?"  
"Yeah, but four years..."  
"I'm still not sure we should be doing this," said Remus anxiously as he watched Belinda pour some porcupine quills into the potion. The potion turned green and sizzled. "If Dumbledore finds out, we'll get expelled for sure..."  
"Yeah, but he won't," James said. "So there'll be no problem."  
"Yep," said Sirius. "So far, so good."  
"Don't say that Sirius," Lily said. "The only time people say that is before everything blows up in their faces."  
"So far, so so so good," Sirius said teasingly. Lily groaned.  
"We're dead," she said.   
*****  
"Bye, Lily!" Belinda said, hugging her friend goodbye. "Have a nice holiday. Send me an owl when you want to go to Diagon Alley and we'll go together."  
"Okay," Lily said. "I'll ask my parents if you can stay for the holidays."  
"That'd be cool," Belinda said. "I've never been to a Muggle house before."  
She waved goodbye as she headed of towards the rest of her family. Lily went to her own mother.  
"Hi, Lily," she said, bending down to hug her. "Did you have a nice term?"  
"Yeah, it was great," Lily said. "I came top of Charms!"  
"That's wonderful!" Mrs Bronwell said. "Let's get back to the car. Petunia's waiting for us at home."  
As Lily walked back to the car with her, she could help feeling her spirits sink a little. Petunia was sure to make her holidays as horrible as possible.  
But, Lily thought to herself, a grin spreading over her face. I have something she doesn't have. Magic.  
  
  
A/N: Well, that's the end of the first bit. The next bit will probably have more on the Animagi potion and stuff. It'll be out by next week, I hope. anyway, pleeease review and tell me what u think. I won't continue if u don't like it.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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